headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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DonnieInMT

GDTRFB

+14858


Submissions

4
Casey Jones
Dec. 26, 1969
McFarlin Auditorium, SMU

The music sounds like something you'd hear being played at a carnival.
4
Monkey and the Engineer
Dec. 19, 1969
Fillmore Auditorium

First time played.
2
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 11, 1980
Warfield Theater

It starts off slow, then the booogie kicks in and this one sprouts its wings and soars.
4
China Doll
Oct. 11, 1980
Warfield Theater

Hauntingly beautiful.
6
Monkey and the Engineer
Oct. 11, 1980
Warfield Theater

Oh, God - Bob's line before they start the tune is priceless.
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Comments

Estimated Prophet
Sept. 18, 1990
Madison Square Garden

Yup. Give me a Hornsby Estimated over a 70's one every day. The early versions were flat and tepid. The ones you get from 90-91 are bursting with insane energy - the music and the vocals. Some people are just stuck in their position that anything 70's is better and it's a shame that they're missing out on great stuff like this.
Sugar Magnolia
May 9, 1977
War Memorial

Slow, lazy, unfocused. Any version from 1982 - New Years Eve aside - is better than this. Just another example of 1977 bias.
Monkey and the Engineer
Oct. 11, 1980
Warfield Theater

Beautifully played and sung. A crime it hasn't been posted before.
Sugar Magnolia
Aug. 27, 1972
Old Renaissance Faire Grounds

Personally, my favorite Sugar Mags come from 1982. The energy, focus, drive and execution is there in spades. 8-27-72 has several best-ever versions, but that doesn't mean that every version of every song that day is the best ever.
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
Aug. 6, 1982
St. Paul Civic Center

I drool over those '82 Sugar Mags. It's insane how intense and focused they are. Oh, yes - the Maxell tape days. God, I loved them. My wife got total revenge on me when she destroyed every Jerry Garcia Band, Legion of Mary and Reconstruction tape I owned. There is still this one version of Breadbox that I have yet been able to replace.
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